IMG Credit: Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor
Date: November 28, 2018
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

What does it say that I had to look up the results from last week’s episode? This series really doesn’t have a lot of staying power and that’s been an issue for a long time. Last week’s main event saw SCU winning the Tag Team Titles to give them some security as the year comes to a close. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Christopher Daniels being injured two weeks ago and SCU winning the Tag Team Titles last week.

Opening sequence.

The Kingdom vs. The Boys

It’s TK O’Ryan/Matt Taven for the Kingdom here. Taven isn’t impressed and says he’ll handle this one by himself while O’Ryan sits in on commentary. Before the bell, Taven hits one of them with the belt and it’s a glorified singles match to start. We’ll say Boy #1 gets DDT’ed down and Taven even fans him down. That’s…nice of him I guess?

We take an early break and come back with Taven hitting a running knee to #1’s face but #2 comes in for a headscissors. #2’s dive is caught in the air so #1 dives onto both of them for the double knockdown. Vinny Marseglia pops up from underneath the ring though and pulls #2 under. The Climax finishes #1 at 6:12.

Rating: D. Just an angle here and while that’s fine, it could have been a little more interesting if they had come up with something a little more interesting. Maybe it’s the Kingdom not exactly being thrilling or maybe it’s the Boys, but this wasn’t exactly thrilling. At least Taven is facing Dalton Castle at the pay per view instead of going after the World Title, but you know that’s coming.

Cody talks about Final Battle being the anniversary of him losing the World Title. Since then, he’s never gotten his one on one title shot and that changes at Final Battle. Cody was pretty serious here and it worked….I think.

Ian brings Jonathan Gresham to the ring for a chat. Gresham, who is tiny compared to Ian, isn’t on the Final Battle card yet while his tag partner Jay Lethal has a World Title defense. He’s here to prove that he’s the best technical wrestler in the world so it’s Open Challenge time for the pay per view. All the best technical wrestlers in the world can come see him….and here’s Zack Sabre Jr. on the screen. He’ll show up at Final Battle for the challenge in his ROH debut. Wait, how in the world has Sabre never worked here before??? Anyway that should be a good one.

Daniels is on the phone with someone named Joe (presumably COO Joe Koff) and promises to send the signed documents to him the next day. SCU is there with him and the two of them have contracts. Daniels doesn’t though and the two of them are worried about him. He’ll come up with something.

Kelly Klein vs. Jenny Rose

The winner goes on to the four way title match at Final Battle and Rose is in a football jersey for some reason. They don’t even wait for the bell and start fighting in a hurry with Klein taking over off some knees to the face. Rose gets sent outside and we take a break. Back with Rose rolling out of the corner but getting pulled back in for a choke. That earns Klein a slam off the top and a spear gives Rose two. Some knees to the back keep Klein in trouble but she’s right back with K Power (spinning AA) for the pin at 7:35.

Rating: D+. I know I’ve said it before but EGADS this division is just not working. There’s a history between these two but I have no idea who Rose and Klein are (as in I know nothing about them) and that doesn’t make for an interesting match. The wrestling wasn’t bad, but I couldn’t tell you who else is fighting for the title and really, I don’t care.

Video on Hangman Page vs. Jeff Cobb. That could be a heck of a hoss fight.

Quick vignette of a heart monitor line spiking over and over. No idea who that is.

Young Bucks vs. Briscoes

The winners face SCU at Final Battle. Mark jumps over Nick to start so Nick hits a springboard flipping wristdrag to take over instead. Everything breaks down in a hurry with Matt firing off the kicks and throwing Nick into the air for a double dropkick. A neckbreaker to Mark in the corner sets up a quick slingshot splash and the Bucks are in trouble as we take an early break.

Back with Matt in trouble as the Briscoes take turns hitting him in the head. The choking on the ropes keep Matt in trouble and Mark is smart enough to knock Nick off the apron before Matt can get to the corner. As tends to be the case though, the hot tag goes through all of five seconds later and the Bucks put on stereo Sharpshooters. The Briscoes grab the ropes and start throwing the Bucks around. Redneck Boogie gets two on Matt and Jay grabs his own Sharpshooter on Matt.

Another rope break sends us to another break and we come back with Nick starting to clean house. Mark gets catapulted into a kick to the face in the corner and a slingshot splash gives Nick two. They slug it out with the Briscoes getting the better of it until the Bucks superkick their way to freedom for two. It’s Meltzer Driver time but Jay throws in a chair. Matt gets one of his own and stereo chair peltings give us a double DQ at 12:09.

Rating: B-. These teams have great chemistry together and that was the case again here. The ending pretty clearly sets up the triple threat match at Final Battle and there’s nothing wrong with that. You really wouldn’t want to have either of these teams go over the other so the three way is the best idea, even if we just saw it a few weeks back. Good main event with a big match feel.

Post match Jay and Matt fight over a chair and the referee gets decked. The teams don’t seem to mind and keep slugging it out until security comes in to separate them. Cue SCU to say oh well, we can just fight you both at Final Battle. Oh and we can make it Ladder War. The deal is on to end the show.

Actually hang on as we get that heart monitor thing again.

Overall Rating: C-. Strong main event aside, this wasn’t exactly a great show. I’m glad they set up one of the biggest matches for Final Battle but other than that, this was a bunch of boring wrestling with little angle advancement. There’s some good stuff in Ring of Honor but when it misses, it really misses badly. At least the main event was there to help things, but it couldn’t quite save the show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: November 21, 2018
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

We’re still in Philadelphia and the big story coming out of last week was the return of Dalton Castle, who helped Jay Lethal and Jonathan Gresham defeat the Kingdom. Then he made it clear that he wanted the World Title, which means he’ll likely be facing either Lethal or Taven at the upcoming Final Battle. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Castle returning and looking at the title. Stop trying to steal my job.

Opening sequence.

Here are Castle and the Boys to get things going. Castle mentions that he was injured for over three months, but he didn’t go home and just sip mint juleps. He went home and sipped mint juleps but started putting in the world. Castle went to physical therapy and even went to Australia to kiss a kangaroo. Now though, his lone mission is to get back the World Title. He wants the champ, but gets Matt Taven instead. He’s the only man who can call himself the real World Champion. That makes Castle’s head spin so much that he has a seat on the Boys. Castle: “Go home Matt. You’re drunk. You’re like Myrtle Beach drunk.”

Taven accuses Castle of cracking underneath the pressure and bailing on the company so Castle calls him a tall, gangly, uncoordinated idiot. As long as Castle is around, someone like Taven will never be champion. Cue the Kingdom and the good guys are beaten down. The Kingdom gets a bunch of chairs and pile Castle on top of them followed by a TRIPLE CONCHAIRTO. That was really cool. Then I remembered that it’s the Kingdom and my interest lowered.

We look back at Christopher Daniels being beaten down last week. ROH is trying to find a suitable replacement for Daniels in the Tag Team Title match. You mean the Daniels who is part of a trio? Half of which is in the title match already?

We recap Hurricane Helms vs. Marty Scurll. They’ve split two matches and then a third match was thrown out when they both beat up the referee. Therefore Scurll, who won the Survival of the Fittest tournament this year, is getting a fourth match with the old comedy guy. Marty also stole his mask to make it personal.

Marty Scurll vs. Hurricane Helms

No DQ and Scurll has the mask. Hurricane is on the stage….or not actually as that’s Delirious. Instead Hurricane is behind Scurll and hits a chokeslam for two at the bell. They fight outside with Hurricane sitting him in a chair for a running clothesline. Back from a break with Hurricane in trouble and Marty pulling out some umbrellas. Ian: “This is definitely something Marty pre-orchestrated.” Why is commentary so dumb tonight?

Marty unloads with the umbrellas and throws in a little Singin in the Rain for fun. Some stomps to the fingers have Hurricane in trouble but he’s right back with a neckbreaker. Instead of following up though, he puts the mask on and now it’s time to be a hero. That means an umbrella being broken over the knee and a Downward Spiral gets two on Scurll. Hurricane throws in some chairs but since that takes forever, Marty is able to get in a few shots and set up four chairs. That takes way too long as well (a villain never learns) and Hurricane press slams him onto the chairs.

The Nightmare on Helm Street gets two and we take another break. Back again with Marty hitting an AA off the apron through the table….for two. Marty throws an umbrella down and grabs a bag from underneath the ring. That would be thumbtacks but Marty blocks a drop toehold onto the tacks. Instead Marty snaps Hurricane’s fingers….but gets chokeslammed onto them for two instead. The tacks in his back are censored for a nice touch. Marty is back up with a low blow and puts some tacks in Hurricane’s mouth for a superkick. Graduation onto the tacks finishes Hurricane at 15:32.

Rating: B-. It’s a good brawl, but there are two problems. First and foremost, it’s the fourth match between Hurricane and Marty Scurll, the latter of whom should be a main eventer. Why is he toiling with a guy best known for comedy? That’s the other problem: Hurricane feels REALLY out of place in this kind of a violent match. Hurricane isn’t a hardcore guy and while he did it well, it felt way out of place.

Brandi Rose talks about being out with an injury for a long time but now she’s back. Her clavicle is being held together by metal and screws but she’s cleared to wrestle again. I can appreciate her efforts, but is anyone really begging to see her back in the ring?

Tag Team Titles: Young Bucks vs. So Cal Uncensored vs. Briscoes

The Briscoes are defending and, shockingly enough, Scorpio Sky is Kazarian’s partner. Nick and Sky start things off and we’ve got a special hashtag for this main event: WatchROHSecondHalfOfOurDoubleMainEventHereInPhiladelhiaTheCityOfBrotherlyLove. That’s actually on top of the screen, because ROHTagTeamTitles is too simple. Sky flips out of a wristlock and takes both Briscoes to the floor for a dive. Kazarian adds a slingshot hurricanrana to stagger Mark and it’s Jay being thrown back inside to deal with the Bucks.

Kazarian comes back in to add a slingshot dropkick to Jay and an assisted tornado DDT drops Mark for two. The champs take over on Kazarian though and the referee stops to check on him as the Briscoes pose. Mark isn’t done as he takes Kazarian outside and rams his head into the barricade a few times. Back in and the pummeling continues in the corner. A Backstabber finally puts Mark down but Jay is smart enough to kick Sky off the apron.

Back from a break with Kazarian German suplexing Mark in the direction of the turnbuckles, which is good enough for the hot tag to Matt. Everything breaks down and Mark gets dropkicked into the barricade. The Sharpshooter has Jay in trouble but Sky makes a save, even as Matt’s back was about to give out. Nick throws Sky into the air for a spear from Matt and it’s a superkick into the Swanton for two.

A hurricanrana sends Nick into the corner for a tag to Kazarian and it’s a dropkick/sitout powerbomb combination for a close two. Sky grabs a slingshot cutter on Mark and it’s off to stereo dragon sleepers. Nick and Jay make the save with superkicks, followed by another superkick to Jay. The hot tag brings in Nick, who knees the referee by mistake. That’s enough for Matt to start throwing chairs (used in three different segments tonight) but Kazarian saves Sky from taking one to the head.

The Jay Driller (more like Angel’s Wings actually) gets two on Kazarian with Sky making the save. Matt slugs away at both Briscoes but gets backbreakered onto the chair. The Doomsday Device is countered into a powerslam to pull Mark out of the air for another near fall (with the referee stopping early). Jay chairs Mark by mistake though and it’s a powerbomb/Backstabber combination to give Kazarian the pin and the titles at 14:27.

Rating: B-. As usual, ROH isn’t the best at the structured tag matches but they didn’t go too far with the false finishes to mess with things here. SCU winning made the most sense here and while the Bucks were just there to prevent a rematch from Death Before Dishonor, they were their usual entertaining selves and it’s not like they lose anything in defeat. Good match, though a little more actual tag wrestling would have been nice.

Daniels, in a neck brace, comes out to celebrate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. While I’m not wild on some of the booking (the Kingdom, with Taven in general, isn’t interesting), the wrestling was good and this show flew by. There are times when this show feels like it’s taking forever but that wasn’t the case here. It’s a good show, and you can see where some of Final Battle is going. That’s good too, as the show is less than a month away.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 1997 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/11/20/new-paperback-complete-1997-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: November 14, 2018
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Caprice Coleman, Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

We’re still in Philadelphia and on the road to Final Battle, but the big question is how many more ECW names can we get in here. I wonder if Blue Meanie is doing anything tonight. Anyway we still need a card for the pay per view so maybe we can start building things up this week. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Shane Taylor vs. Jeff Cobb

Non-title. Shane spits on his extended hands and they start ramming into each other. Cobb hits his swinging belly to back suplex but Shane pops up. That earns him a t-bone suplex and Cobb is right back up again. They slug it out until Taylor blasts him with a clothesline. Back from a break with Shane telling Cobb to show him why he’s the chosen one. Cobb is right back up with a running elbow in the corner and a dropkick as Taylor is on the ropes.

Since that’s not impressive enough, a delayed release suplex gives Cobb one. That means the standing moonsault for tow more as Cobb isn’t sure what to do with this guy. Taylor is back up with a running Canadian Destroyer of all things but Cobb is back up with a German suplex. The Tour of the Islands finishes Taylor at 7:05.

Rating: C+. This was EXACTLY as it was advertised with two big guys doing things that people their size shouldn’t be able to do. It was a lot of fun with both guys beating each other up until the other couldn’t stand any longer. Good, fun match that didn’t try to be anything more than it should have. I didn’t expect to like this and they entertained me so well done.

Post match Hangman Page comes in for a staredown with Cobb but they pause to beat up security. Page stares at the title….and one security guard is foolish enough to still be in the ring. Page leaves and Cobb hits a superkick and the Tour of the Islands.

Jay Lethal knows that being World Champion has put a target on his back and Kenny King took a shot at him. He’ll take care of King at Global Wars on November 11 (as in after this show aired) and tonight he’ll show that off in a six man tag.

The Bouncers aren’t sure of their opponents’ names tonight but know they have to win.

Post break, Brian Milonas has lost the Beer City Bruiser. Ok then.

Marty Scurll talks about being stuck in the story of superhero vs. supervillain. Next week, it’s round four. Earlier this month, Scurll won the Survival of the Fittest tournament to earn a World Title shot. There is zero reason for him to be in an extended feud with Shane Helms.

Milonas finds Bruiser drinking because Silas Young won’t talk to him. The talk of hitting people makes Bruiser feel better. Well I’m so glad that problem was started and solved in the span of five minutes.

The Bouncers vs. Cheeseburger/Eli Isom

Cheeseburger and Isom have Ryan Nova in their corner. Isom can’t do much to Bruiser to start so he steps on the big man’s foot. The suplex just isn’t happening though and Bruiser sends him into the corner, only to miss a charge. It’s off to Cheeseburger for a chop, followed by a sleeper to the also tagged in Milonas. He staggers over for a tag to Bruiser for a side slam/dropkick combination and it’s time to bite Cheeseburger. Make your own jokes.

Milonas sits on Cheeseburger in the corner but misses a charge and goes shoulder first into the post. That’s enough for the hot tag to Isom and the pace picks up. A high crossbody gets two on Milonas and everything breaks down. Cheeseburger DDTs Bruiser and Isom manages a suplex for two. The dive is caught though and Cheeseburger gets posted, leaving Isom to take Closing Time for the pin at 6:02.

Rating: D+. Isom has grown on me a lot and that’s not something I would have expected. They teased the idea of him outgrowing Cheeseburger (his mentor, which would make me want to quit wrestling) and I’m really hoping it doesn’t lead to some match and feud between them. I’d hope they can do better than that for a passing of the torch. As for the Bouncers…I don’t hate them. I thought I would have but for a team that plays a pretty specific role, they’re not terrible.

Here’s So Cal Uncensored for a chat, where they suck up to Philadelphia and insult it, because that’s what Scorpio Sky does. Kazarian calls this place sacred ground and there’s the required ECW chant. He lists off some names in the Hardcore Hall of Fame and gets the fans to chant SCU, who at least work for this company. Daniels (in an SC F’N U shirt) says he wants to be serious for a minute and talk about Joe Koff throwing out Kazarian and himself after this year’s Final Battle.

Some things have changed since then and now Koff should want to keep SCU around here. Maybe the best way to prove their value is to take the Tag Team Titles from the Briscoes. They came up short at Death Before Dishonor, but next week it’s the Briscoes vs. the Addiction and the Young Bucks. Daniels promises to win the titles next week and next year, the best thing about Ring of Honor is going to be SCU. Good fire from Daniels here, which tends to be the case. The trio goes to leave but here are the Briscoes to beat them down, including a Jay Driller to Daniels on the stage. That sounds like an injury angle.

Daniels was helped to the back during the break.

Jay Lethal/Jonathan Gresham/??? vs. The Kingdom

The mystery partner is…Dalton Castle, who is making his return after a lengthy injury absence. Castle’s thigh, elbow and back are taped up but he seems to be moving fine. Gresham and the now mohawked Taven start things off as the fans are behind Jonathan. It’s amazing how being not Matt Taven makes you popular. O’Ryan comes in before anything of note happens so Gresham takes him down and tries to spit on him. Some hero.

A kick to the leg sets up a dropkick to send O’Ryan into the corner for the tag off to Marseglia. Vinny wants the peacock though and it’s off to Castle for a big reaction. Castle can’t hit a bulldog but can hit the peacock pose with those wild eyes. Another takedown lets Castle work on the arm for a second, followed by a clothesline to the floor. The teased dive lets Castle bring back the slow motion strut and now Taven is willing to come in. Taven gets in Castle’s face but the rest of the Kingdom pulls Lethal and Gresham down, allowing Matt to take over with a cheap shot.

Castle gets thrown into the crowd but the good guys take over with Lethal putting Taven in a chair. The referee breaks up a dive…gets pulled underneath the ring. Lethal’s suicide dive sends O’Ryan into the barricade but, with the referee having been pulled into the abyss, Taven comes in with a chair to Lethal’s ribs. Back from a break with Taven kneeing the heck out of Lethal’s face but Jay fights up and brings Gresham in anyway.

Everything breaks down and Gresham cleans house, allowing the hot tag to Castle. A running knee in the corner gets two on Taven and Gresham elbows Marseglia down. That means a dive onto O’Ryan but the shooting star hits knees. Lethal hits the Lethal Injection on O’Ryan as Marseglia brings in a chair. That goes badly though as it’s the Bang-a-Rang onto the chair to give Castle the pin at 12:08.

Rating: C+. This was all about Castle’s return and that worked very well. The fans went coconuts for him and he adds another big name to the roster. I’m not sure what they can do with him at this point but having too much talent around isn’t a problem. Gresham continues to look like a star and it’s always nice to see the Kingdom taking a loss.

Castle poses with the winners but points at the title. Lethal isn’t sure about that so Castle extends a handshake, which Lethal accepts. Sounds like a title match is imminent.

Overall Rating: C. This show had the energy back again with some good wrestling and a nice surprise in the end. They’re starting to talk about Final Battle more too and that’s a good sign as we get closer to the biggest show of the year. Just keep up the angles and stories instead of the filler episodes and things will start getting better at the right time.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Smackdown Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/09/07/new-book-kbs-complete-smackdown-2003-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor
Date: July 18, 2018
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

Now I bet you were expecting some storyline development since we’re about three weeks removed from Best in the World, but you don’t know your Ring of Honor. Tonight is a gauntlet match for the #1 contendership to the Six Man Tag Team Titles. I’m not sure if there’s anything else on the card, but it wouldn’t shock me. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The Kingdom can’t wait to see how which Melvins get the next title shot because the conspiracy is still real.

Opening sequence.

Kelly Klein vs. Jenny Rose

Well at least there’s something else. Rose won’t put up with the trash talk and slaps Klein in the face to start. They hit the mat with Rose getting two off an Oklahoma roll and an armdrag out of the corner has Klein a little flustered. Rose charges into an elbow in the corner though and we take a break. Back with Klein dropping her with a clothesline and getting two off a one handed cover. She’s quite good with the cocky character.

There’s a running boot to drop Jenny again. Riccaboni: “Jenny Jenny, Kelly has your number right now.” Jenny turns to a running elbow in the corner and a release German suplex sends Klein flying. Klein is in trouble but grabs a quick suplex and rolls through into the End of the Match for the knockout at 7:58.

Rating: D+. Rose is another name in the division who can do the basics but can’t get much further than that. Klein and Dashwood come off as miles ahead of everyone else and it makes things look that much worse every time they’re out there. I still have no idea who these people are and I don’t know anything about them. The division isn’t going to get any better until that’s changed.

The Dawgs go to ask Cody for money to pay Shane Taylor to be their partner. Cody: “I just financed a 10,000 seat arena. I don’t have expendable cash right now.” The Dawgs think Marty Scurll might have it but Cody’s not cool with that. He pulls out an envelope of money and hands it to them instead, much to the Dawgs’ delight.

Matt Taven joins commentary with the Kingdom behind him.

Gauntlet Match

Five team trios gauntlet match with the winners getting a future Six Man Tag Team Title shot against the Kingdom. Shane Taylor/The Dawgs vs. Jonathan Gresham/Alex Shelley/LSG start things off, showcasing the depth of this “division” with two thrown together teams. LSG chops Taylor for no effect to start so Taylor kicks him in the chest. It’s off to Titus vs. Gresham as Riccaboni says every team has to start somewhere. True, but maybe it shouldn’t be in a #1 contenders match.

Shelley and Ferrara come in to make sure we have all three combinations before it settles down to Taylor headbutting Shelley in the face. Back from a break with Shelley avoiding the doggy splash. The hot tag brings in LSG for a running flip neckbreaker and the rope walk flip dive to take the villains down. Back in and LSG ducks Ferrara’s right hand into a rollup for the elimination at 8:58.

Silas Young/Beer City Bruiser/Brian Milonas are in third with Bruiser wasting no time in hitting the flip dive off the apron. Milonas catches LSG’s dive and picks up Shelley for a swinging side slam/dropkick to the head combo. Young and Gresham have a series of standing switches to a round of applause, break apart, and then do it again. That’s enough wrestling for Milonas, who crushes Gresham with a crossbody as we take another break.

Back again with Gresham and Young doing more standing switches until Gresham scores with a DDT. LSG comes back in and starts cleaning house, including low bridging Milonas to the floor. Everything breaks down and LSG hits something like a low F5 on Young. Milonas comes in to run LSG over though and what Riccaboni calls a Hart Attack with a legdrop (or as the Midnight Express called it, the Veg-O-Matic) gets two. The backbreaker into the clothesline drops Shelley and Bruiser’s windup DDT plants Gresham. The PowerPlex is broken up though and LSG’s 450 pins Milonas at 19:46.

So Cal Uncensored is in fourth and beat the heck out of the exhausted trio. We take a third break and come back with So Cal Uncensored taking turns beating on LSG. Sky’s super hurricanrana sets up Celebrity Rehab for the elimination at 24:17. Good performance from the makeshift team and I’m fine with having them get squashed in the third fall against an established team.

The final team is Kenny King/Eli Isom/Chuckie T because….well someone has to be the final team. It’s a big staredown to start so let’s look at the announcers a few times. Chuckie backdrops Daniels to start and clotheslines him into the corner for the tag off to Sky. King comes in as well and can’t quite figure out the Best Friends elbow with Chuckie. Some forearms have Kazarian in trouble and it’s already back to Chuckie for the rolling hilo.

Back from another break with Isom missing a dropkick and getting pummeled down like the jobber that he is. A slingshot legdrop gets two and it’s off to the chinlock. Isom fights up for a clothesline and King comes in to pick up the pace. King kicks Kazarian in the face as everything breaks down. For some reason Isom gets tagged in and it’s a three way hug. Chuckie and King dive to the floor, leaving Isom to reverse Angel’s Wings into a cover for the pin at 35:16.

Rating: B. I really don’t care for the idea of having all of those teams being thrown together for something like this but the action was quite good. The LSG team was a nice collection of three guys with nothing to lose trying everything they could and the surprise ending wasn’t bad. I’m still not sold on this “division” though and this match didn’t change my mind about the future.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event dominates the show and was entertaining enough to make things work fine. That being said, it’s not like any of this stuff matters as the trio isn’t going to win the titles so this was just a big one off show with no long term importance. That’s fine once in awhile, but it’s been the case for three weeks now. Do something that matters, because this is really old.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2003 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2018/07/23/new-book-kbs-complete-2003-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: May 9, 2018
Location: Stage AE, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re on the road to Best in the World and I’m really not sure what that means at the moment. The show is in June but since Ring of Honor’s schedule is so all over the place, we might be getting a wide variety of stuff to set things up. Hopefully the show is at least good, which has been the case more often than not as of late. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Beer City Bruiser/Brian Milonas vs. Coast to Coast

The big guys are sent to the floor to start and Coast to Coast tries some stereo dives. Only Bruiser is taken down though as Milonas catches LSG but Ali is there with a dropkick to take them down. Things settle down with Bruiser knocking Coast to Coast to the floor right some forearms, only to miss the cannonball off the apron for a (very big) crash.

Back from a break with Ali in more trouble and Milonas hitting his falling splash. Another splash misses though and it’s off to LSG for some fast kicks. A 450 gets two on Milonas but Bruiser is back in with a Downward Spiral. Ali hits the same thing on Bruiser but Closing Time is broken up. Last Call connects instead with Ali diving in to make a save. Bruiser is sent outside and Coast to Coast hits Coast to Coast for the pin at 10:24.

Rating: C-. While the match wasn’t much, the ending was an absolute sigh of relief. This match needed to go to Coast to Coast as they’re starting to gain some momentum. The other team, as you may have noticed, is fat. That’s the extent of their characters and really, I could go for….oh just about anything else. Coast to Coast isn’t great but they’re better than those two and I’m glad ROH went with the right move here.

Jay Lethal is lost without gold and is ready to do whatever it takes to change that.

The Young Bucks are ready for one more match with the Briscoes in their Tag Team Title match next week.

Will Ferrara vs. Jonathan Gresham

Rhett Titus is on commentary and SOMEONE SHOOT ME NOW! Feeling out process to start and that’s a really bad idea from Ferrara’s perspective. Ferrara actually manages to take over with a wristlock as Titus keeps calling himself the Big Dog. Gresham can’t get out of the wristlock until a headscissors gets us to a standoff. Ferrara drops him again and we take a break.

Back with Ferrara working on the arm until Gresham uppercuts Ferrara’s arm in a nice counter. A running kick to the arm has Ferrara in more trouble but the Octopus Hold is broken up in short order. Ferrara takes him down with a clothesline and slaps on a cobra clutch Crossface of all things. Gresham makes the rope so it’s time for the slugout, which goes against the entire match they’ve been having so far. A German suplex gets two on Ferrara but la majistral into a bridging cradle ends Ferrara at 8:35.

Rating: C. Anything to get Titus off commentary. He and Ferrara are WAY too good at being the most annoying people in the promotion without having anything to back it up so they’re on the right path in one area at least. Gresham isn’t much more than he’s presented as and there’s nothing wrong with playing that role.

Post match the Dawgs beat on Gresham until the Motor City Machine Guns make the save.

Cody and Marty Scurll can’t agree on who should become the World Champion at Best in the World. Bullet Club is fine though.

So Cal Uncensored wants their belts back.

Shane Taylor is here to hurt people again. He doesn’t like having people like his opponent here tonight because that money could go in Shane’s pocket. That more money is Nova’s problem though.

Nova actually gets promo time, promising to scorch Taylor.

Shane Taylor vs. Ryan Nova

Kicks, two chokeslams and a Fire Thunder Driver are enough for the match to be stopped at 38 seconds.

War of the Worlds rundown.

Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. The Kingdom

Taylor is still at ringside and the Kingdom pays him for something. During the entrances, Castle and the Boys are ready for some chaos. TK O’Ryan hides from Dalton to start as Shane is sitting at ringside and guarding the Six Man titles. A shoulder puts O’Ryan down and there’s the first suplex to send him flying. Marseglia comes in and has to fight out of an early Julie Newmar attempt.

Instead Castle settles for another suplex and it’s off to the Boys with #1 climbing on #2’s shoulders to kick Marseglia in the face. #2 comes off the top with a missile dropkick for two but Marseglia takes him down by the leg. Taven comes in to face Castle chest to chest with Dalton sticking his out rather hard. A running kick to the chest in the corner has Taven in trouble and we take a break.

Back with Taven tripping Castle so Marseglia can take him down and going for the hand. Everything breaks down and the Boys dropkick Taven down. #1 gets triple stomped down as this just keeps going. A Saito suplex gets two on #1 and Taven adds a spinebuster. Cue Christopher Daniels to go after the titles but Shane shoves him down because money talks.

The Boys switch places (which works despite them having different color hair) in the melee, allowing #2 to kick O’Ryan in the head and bring in Castle. Everything breaks down and the Boys are tossed over the top rope multiple times each to take the Kingdom out over and over. Taven uses the distraction to hit Castle in the bad hand with a title, leaving #2 to take the Climax for the pin at 15:32.

Rating: D+. This was much longer than anything else, especially as a way to set up Taven vs. Castle at the major show later in the week. At least the side story with So Cal Uncensored and Shane wasn’t treated as a big deal that got a ton of time, but they’ve done worse things before. Not a terrible match but it was longer than it needed to be.

Post match the beatdown continues with Taven Pillmanizing Castle’s arm.

Overall Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this show as it was mainly stuff for future episodes or the upcoming week of big house shows, most of which aren’t exactly thrilling stuff. The main event really sucked the life out of the show though as it just went on too long and wasn’t all that good in the first place. Then again, Taven and the Kingdom aren’t interesting and that might have had a big part of the problem.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor
Date: March 21, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

We’re still in the post-Anniversary Show season, meaning we won’t quite be seeing the fresh shows yet. That being said, there’s a formula to making these things work and Ring of Honor isn’t half bad at pulling it off. Hopefully that’s what they can do again this week so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of the Kingdom/So Cal Uncensored vs. the Bullet Club with the latter seemingly falling apart.

Opening sequence.

The Dawgs vs. Coast to Coast

Beer City Bruiser and Brian Milonas are on commentary. On the way to the ring, Rhett Titus talks about this being a St. Patrick’s Day special, which should help Atlanta in their search for the Pot of Gold. Titus: “ROLL TIDE!” LSG and Titus get things going with Rhett’s left hand popping him in the jaw. A powerslam gets no cover as Titus needs to yell a lot instead of following up.

Ferrara tags himself in and gets dropkicked for his efforts as Coast to Coast takes over. Blast Off (kind of a double reverse slam) gets two on Ferrara but Titus makes the save with a dropkick. We take a break and come back with Titus slingshotting Ferrara into a splash before adding one of his own for two. The time wasting continues as Titus throws Ferrara into LSG a few times but the third takes so long that it only hits a raised boot.

That’s still not enough for the tag as Ferrara cuts it off and Titus’ Doggy Splash gets two. A missed charge allows the hot tag to Ali and it’s time for some shots to the face. Ali backdrops Titus onto Ferrara and one heck of a spinning Rock Bottom plants Ferrara again. LSG comes back in with a spinning butterfly suplex, followed by a frog splash to give Ali the pin at 10:09.

Rating: C. Coast to Coast is starting to get somewhere and while I’m not wild on another frog splash finisher, that’s a better way to wrap things up than that double dropkick. It makes them look like they’re changing things up and that’s what they should be going for after such a long losing streak. Nice little match, even if the Dawgs are that annoying.

Post match Bruiser and Milonas lay out Coast to Coast.

Marty Scurll is ready to take the World Title from Dalton Castle at Supercard of Honor. I’m certainly interested in seeing it.

Castle smiles at the idea of Scurll getting a title shot. He can’t pronounce New Orleans but he’s better at big events than the Cajun accents. There’s no way Scurll is taking the title.

Women of Honor Title Tournament First Round: HZK vs. Mayu Iwatani

From Osaka, Japan at a Stardom show. It’s a test of strength to start until HZK rolls her up for two. They hit the mat for a quick sequence into a standoff as this is already looking better than most first round matches. HZK starts in on he arm while putting her boot on Mayu’s face but a leg sweep gets Mayu out of trouble. A running dropkick puts HZK on the floor and that means a dive (after some balancing issues) to take us to a break.

Back with HZK grabbing a loose Crossface and then rolling her around the ring over and over into a rollup (think a reverse Tumbleweed) for two. A Michinoku Driver plants Mayu and a frog splash seated senton gets the same. Mayu comes back with a German suplex and a top rope double stomp for two of her own. That’s enough for Mayu so she superkicks her twice, followed by a dragon suplex for the pin at 9:40.

Rating: C+. Nice match here and far better than most of the other tournament matches, but the same problem persists: who are these people and why should I care? Just saying “they’re from Japan” isn’t enough and while I’m sure there are interesting details about these people, I haven’t exactly heard them so far.

Bullet Club vs. So Cal Uncensored/Kingdom

Cody/Hangman Page/Marty Scurll/young Bucks

Christopher Daniels/Frankie Kazarian/Vinny Marseglia/TK O’Ryan/Matt Taven

Cody gets his own entrance with Bury the Bear and Brandi, despite what happened at the Anniversary Show (where the Bear was unmasked as Kenny Omega and kissing ensued). He throws out “Bullet Club Is Fine” shirts for everyone and after a huddle, it’s time for the superkicks to clean house early on. Page adds in a shooting star off the apron to O’Ryan and Cody dives onto everyone. Back in and the Kingdom/So Cal Uncensored clears the ring until we get down to Daniels vs. Cody.

The STO is countered into a Downward Spiral to put Cody down but Matt needs to question Cody’s “leader” pants. A superkick makes up for it and Scurll comes in to start on O’Ryan’s arm. Kazarian and Page come in for the big slugout (there’s a huge showdown match in there somewhere) with Hangman getting the better of it and scoring with a dropsault to take out Daniels at the same time.

Cody comes back in for the snap powerslam (ala his brother) but Daniels offers a trip so Kazarian can springboard in with a legdrop. This time it’s off to Marseglia to hammer away as Cody takes a heck of a beating. A spinebuster into a middle rope headbutt gets two and the Club is knocked off the apron.

Back from a break with Taven kneeing Cody in the face and getting two off a cocky cover. Not quite Jericho but he’s getting there. An RKO of all things gets Cody out of trouble (good to see that he listened to his old mentor) and it’s a double tag to bring in the Bucks. Eh to be fair they’re basically the same thing anyway. Cody tags himself back in and gets two off a Snapdragon (Kenny Omega signature move), annoying the Bucks by canceling their superkick party. I knew I always liked Cody.

A moonsault/legdrop/450 combination from the Bucks/Marty give Cody two and everything breaks down again. Kazarian charges into a quintuple superkick and everyone not named Cody does the Ultimate Warrior rope shake. Cody loads up the Rise of the Terminator pose and the Bucks aren’t wild on that.

They eventually go along with it to quiet the booing, followed by a triple suicide dive. Daniels moonsaults onto everyone but Page one ups them with a huge moonsault. Taven gets in a HUGE dive to take everyone out but THE BEAR does a dive of his own for another wipeout. Cue Scorpio Sky to dropkick Marseglia by mistake, setting up Cross Rhodes for the pin at 15:21.

Rating: B-. This advanced the storylines and that’s what matters the most. Supercard of Honor is in just over two weeks and it’s time to really crank up the tension for that show. Cody vs. Omega for the Bullet Club is going to be a big deal but it would be nice to not have to watch a ton of different shows to get the entire story.

Post match the Kingdom and So Cal Uncensored brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The wrestling worked well here and they adjusted a variety of stories as we get closer and closer to the pay per view. Having the TV tapings up to date would help a lot but this is as good as it gets in Ring of Honor. The Anniversary Show was great and hopefully they have a good followup in New Orleans. Good show here as things are starting to pick up at the right time.

Remember to check out my website at steelcagewrestling.com, follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of the WWE Grab Bag (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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Ring of Honor
Date: January 17, 2018
Location: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Colt Cabana

We’ve got a stacked show this week, including something resembling a dream match (I use that term kind of loosely) between Jay Lethal and Will Ospreay. In this case dream means more like “it should be very good”, which is certainly not a bad thing to say about a match. Other than that there’s probably more from new World Champion Dalton Castle so let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Jay Lethal vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title isn’t here yet so non-title. They fight over a wristlock to start and it’s Jay being flipped over off a wristlock. Jay pops back up and shows Ospreay how to do a wristlock but the cartwheel into a basement dropkick is cut off. Lethal gets sent outside but is ready for Ospreay’s handspring dive, grabbing his hands to take Will down.

The three straight suicide dives send Ospreay over the barricade and it’s Marty Scurll coming out as we take a break. Back with Marty on commentary, explaining that he won at Final Battle because he brought out the old Lethal. Marty also demands a World Title match and that works very well for me. Ospreay knocks Lethal into the corner and lights up his chest with a chop.

A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker gets Lethal out of trouble and he scores with an uppercut. Ian: “To the European himself.” Marty found that one HILARIOUS and….eh I love easy jokes but not really. Back up and Ospreay kicks Lethal in the chest, followed by an enziguri in the corner. Will sends him outside and the Flying Space Tiger Drop (cartwheel into a moonsault over the top) crushes Jay as we take a second break.

Back again with the Oscutter being caught in a torture rack (Marty: “THE LETHAL EXPRESS!”). Jay rolls it forward like a reverse Regal Roll (Ian: “HE’LL BE YOUR HERO!”) for two and Marty is losing it on these near falls. Ospreay is right back with a reverse Impaler for two of his own, only to walk into the Lethal Combination. Jay’s Figure Four is countered into a small package but Jay counters the Oscutter into a cutter of his own. The Lethal Injection puts Ospreay away at 16:37.

Rating: B. Yep it was a very good match and again, that’s all you need on something like this. They were trading the big bombs here but they also played up the idea that they knew each other very well, which makes for a nice story. The Oscutter into the cutter was a very cool counter and Marty wanting to face Jay again could set him up for the title shot in New Orleans.

It’s time for Coleman’s Pulpit with guest Jonathan Gresham, who is in a much higher chair. Because he’s not that tall you see. Coleman starts in with the short jokes but Gresham talks about being trained by Mr. Hughes in Atlanta. We hear about Gresham’s not great win/loss record and Coleman laughs a bit. Gresham talks about mastering his style and the rules he would like for people like him. Sounds like a return of the Pure Rules format. And that’s it, ending another, ahem, thrilling, Coleman’s Pulpit. This is one of the lamest interview segments in wrestling history and it’s not getting any better. Just drop it already.

Kenny King vs. Brian Milonas

Milonas is the big fat guy who was pretty terrible in the Top Prospect Tournament. Brian throws him into the air but King lands on his feet out of a hiptoss. A kick to the head doesn’t do much to Brian but Kenny low bridges him to the floor with some more success. The corkscrew dive barely connects but let’s stop for a picture with a fan. Back in and King chops away to little avail as the big splash in the corner cuts him off. A twisting sunset flip out of the corner doesn’t work but King avoids the sitdown splash. King kicks him in the head and finally drops the big man. The springboard Blockbuster ends Milonas at 3:54.

Rating: C-. There’s only so much you can do in something like this and Milonas isn’t exactly much besides a tree to be knocked down. King needs to be built back up, especially for what seems to be a rematch for the title in King’s hometown of Las Vegas for the Anniversary Show. Not a terrible match and about as good as it could have been.

Post match King wants to fight Silas Young and gets his wish, only to get jumped from behind by Milonas. Beer City Bruiser gets back in for the beatdown, meaning Milonas is Bruiser’s partner as they go after the Tag Team Titles. I’ve….well I’m sure of a worse sounding team somewhere, though Bruiser has been growing on me.

So Cal Uncensored is in the ring for a chat. Before they can get very far though, ROH COO Joe Koff comes out to say the fans don’t want to see him. They want to see the best wrestlers, but that’s not what So Cal Uncensored is. They’re the most disruptive though and Koff should just fire them right now. Daniels threatens to go to TNA or WWE and tell his new bosses all of Koff’s plans for expansion. Koff isn’t worried because Daniels’ contract expires in a year. Therefore, at Final Battle 2018, the Addiction is done. ENOUGH WITH THE CORPORATE STUFF! It’s annoying in WWE and it’s even worse elsewhere. Cut it out already.

The Briscoes want their titles back.

The Kingdom vs. Dalton Castle/The Boys

O’Ryan and Castle start things off with the champ taking TK down without much effort. Back up and a ducked clothesline allows Dalton to hit the peacock pose, only to get jumped by the now legal Marseglia. Boy #2 (according to Ian, after a debate) tags himself in and it’s #1 springboarding in with a crossbody for two. Taven comes back in and demands to face Castle as we hear about him wanting the title. Egads please don’t do that as I can’t handle the promos.

Castle wrestles him down again but can’t get a German suplex. Taven scores with a running enziguri though, only to be sent outside. Castle loads up a dive but stops for that long striding strut of his. #2 dives in with a stomp onto Marseglia’s arm as we take a break. Back with #1 being sent into the barricade twice in a row to really put him down.

A good looking double flapjack sets up a backsplash/legdrop combo for two as the beating continues. Taven tells O’Ryan to let the Boy go and a missed charge allows #1 to get over to Castle for the hot tag. Dalton gets to clean house until he tries a Tombstone on Taven, leading to seven or eight reversals, capped off by Castle planting Matt. The Bang A Rang drops Taven again and the Julie Newmar (close to a crossface chickenwing) makes Marseglia tap at 11:53.

Rating: C. The match was fine, though my complete lack of interest in all things Kingdom isn’t changing anytime soon. It doesn’t help that O’Ryan and Taven look alike, but it’s just Taven and two goons, which doesn’t help the fact that Taven isn’t very interesting on his own. Castle continues to look like a star though and I’d actually be really interested to see him vs. Scurll down the line. The star power is there and I’m glad they took a chance on him at Final Battle.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty good show here with only the worthless Coleman’s Pulpit holding things down. It’s too early to start worrying about the next pay per view but for now, things are looking fairly solid around here. Castle is an energetic champion, the Briscoes are looking more awesome by the week and King vs. Young could be a nice feud. I’m liking things around here right now and that’s not something I can say around here very often.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Volume VI: July – December 1999 in e-book or paperback. Check out the information here:

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Ring of Honor
Date: November 23, 2016
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Attendance: 600
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Steve Corino

We’ve only got two shows left until Final Battle and that means we won’t be hearing most of the matches for a few more weeks because ROH can’t figure out a schedule to save their lives. Next up is going to be the remainder of the Six Man Tag Team Title tournament as we need opponents for ACH and company. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Silas Young vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Feeling out process to start with Kyle grabbing a full nelson to no avail. A kneebar works a bit better but Silas throws him outside, leaving a nice sweat puddle on the floor. That’s much more in Silas’ wheelhouse and he sends Kyle hard into the barricade as we take a break. Back with Adam Cole on commentary and Kyle using another kneebar to get out of trouble. A cross armbreaker makes Silas’ night even worse and the brainbuster puts Young away at 12:37.

Rating: C-. If they want Silas to become a bigger deal, I’m really not sure how they’re going about it. After the break, this was all Kyle beating the heck out of Young, who barely had any offense in the second half of the match. ROH needs some fresh talent at the top of the card and if they want to push Young then they need to push him instead of jobbing him out in such dominant fashion.

Post match Young criticizes a Jushin Thunder Liger fan for dressing up in a costume. Silas is out here every week facing the music but Liger is a coward. There’s a Final Battle match.

Jay Lethal is ready for his Final Battle match with Cody Rhodes. I’m assuming that was announced on ROH’s website because it wasn’t announced on TV. That’s one of the things they really need to work on. I know a lot of their stuff is online but you can’t throw up a fifteen second graphic and have Kelly mention it?

The Motor City Machine Guns talk about how brutal the Ladder War was before going into a rant about how Adam Page turned on them earlier this year. This turns into the Guns talking about how much they love the ROH roster and it sounds like they’re going after the Bullet Club. I’m not entirely sure what they were going for here as it was a bit all over the place.

The Addiction wants their titles back but more importantly, to prove they’re the best. They get the Briscoes next week. As has been the case recently, this was great fire.

Dalton Castle is still missing the Boys (Where did they go anyway?) so Colt Cabana offers him some replacements.

Colt Cabana/Dalton Castle vs. Preston Quinn/Ken Dixon

Castle and Dixon start things off and it’s time for the chest thrust. The Bang A Rang finishes Ken in 55 seconds. You don’t see squashes like that around here too often.

Post match Castle says he knew he could make Colt smile. Cabana says he saw a lot of himself in Castle but maybe it’s better if they go their separate ways. Colt goes to leave but Castle says not so fast. He’d like a goodbye hug but Cabana knees him low. Well that was rather uncalled for, especially considering he was willing to leave in peace thirty seconds ago. Cabana as a heel could actually be interesting as I’ve never seen it before. Colt beats up the Boys and stabs Castle with a feather.

Six Man Tag Team Title Tournament Semifinals: The Kingdom vs. Team CMLL

Yay for people we don’t know and the announcers won’t explain! O’Ryan and Hecheiro start things off but it’s quickly off to Taven, who gets rolled up for some near falls. Vinny and Ultimo Guerrero, the latter of whom Corino praises because EVERYONE knows who Ultimo Guerrero is. A triple team beatdown has Vinny in trouble as we take a break. Back with Okimura not being able to sunset flip Taven thanks to some old fashioned cheating. Everything breaks down and Guerrero gets triple teamed, only to pop back up and clean house.

Corino: “I LOVE THIS GUY!” Good for you Steve, because we can barely remember his name as he’s been in an ROH ring all of twenty minutes and has never even gotten an introduction. Hecheiro grabs a leg lock on Taven with T.K. making a save as we go to a second break. Back the Kingdom taking over via a dive to the floor, followed by a modified triple bomb for the pin on Hecheiro for the pin at 11:04.

Rating: C+. The match was entertaining though I’m still not sure if the faces or heels won. I mean, I know the Kingdom are heels but was I supposed to cheer for Team CMLL? Why? Just because they’re from Mexico and are here as visitors? I was having a hard enough time keeping track of who was who, let alone wondering if I should be happy with the winners. At least Taven is someone ROH fans is familiar with and it’s a much clearer face vs. heel picture in the finals.

The Briscoes are ready for their tuneup next week because the Addiction are just a step on the way towards Final Battle, where they’ll get the titles back.

Overall Rating: C. I liked this show a lot more than the recent episodes as they advanced several stories and fleshed out a lot of the Final Battle card. That’s been lacking in recent weeks and they nailed it this week. The wrestling was fine enough and hopefully they can give us the big go home show next week, though ROH tends to lack in that area a lot of the time.

Ring of Honor
Date: November 18, 2015
Location: Wings Stadium Annex, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

The Glory By Honor tapings continue as we’re gearing up for Final Battle in the next few weeks. Roderick Strong vs. Jay Lethal for the TV Title is on the horizon, along with AJ Styles vs. Lethal for the World Title. The Tag Team Title scene is still hot too with several teams fighting for the belts. Let’s get to it.

We open with Silas Young telling the Boys it’s time to become men, starting by changing his tire. They keep losing the tire and then stop to clean the grease off themselves. Silas tells them to clean their hands with spit (his spit that is) and gets annoyed when they can’t drive a stick shift. These are the kinds of vignettes they should have been doing for weeks now.

Opening sequence.

War Machine vs. Beer City Bruiser/Silas Young

The Boys are carrying Bruiser’s keg with some great difficulty. The fans chant FREE THE BOYS and of course it’s already a hashtag. Hanson and Bruiser start but no one goes anywhere off a collision. They try it again with Hanson getting the better of it and Rowe comes in for running knees in the corner. Everything breaks down and the Boys try as hard as they can to get Bruiser back to his feet.

Young comes in and takes a bunch of gutwrench gutbusters, only to have the Bruiser run Rowe down. Control changes for the first time and Rowe’s comeback is easily stopped and Bruiser, who must weigh at least 300lbs, drops a frog splash for two. Back from a break with Rowe making the hot tag so Hanson can clean house again. The Boys try to grab Hanson’s legs (they certainly are loyal) but get dragged in and put on the top rope.

Silas gets annoyed at someone hitting his Boys so Hanson stacks him on top of the Boys and pounds away with forearms to all three chests. Rowe suplexes Bruiser but Young is back up with a kick to Rowe’s face. Bruiser takes out the Boys with an apron flip dive by mistake and Young is dropped off camera, leaving the Bruiser to take Fallout (4 I’m assuming) for the pin at 9:25.

Rating: C+. I liked this one more than I was expecting to with all four guys beating on each other with big power moves. Bruiser is a big guy and totally out of shape but he can do enough fat man offense to make his matches entertaining. I’m still digging this Boys story as Dalton is going to come back soon enough and get a huge reaction for attempting the save.

Recap of BJ Whitmer vs. Steve Corino, which we haven’t gotten in the months this feud has been going on. They keep it simple with the more recent stuff this time though, which might be be better given how long these two have been after each other. Corino finally snapped and punched Whitmer out, costing him his commentary job.

Here’s Corino for his first comments since snapping. Nigel McGuinness recaps the whole thing again and says he can’t condone what Corino did due to his no tolerance policy. Therefore, Nigel can’t reinstate him as a color commentator. Instead, he can reinstate Corino as a wrestler. Therefore, at Final Battle, it’s Whitmer vs. Corino in a Fight Without Honor (street fight).

Corino felt the rush of being a wrestler all over again in San Antonio and it’s all he’s ever wanted to do. He never would have guessed that he would still be here at 42 years old. The tours of Japan have taken a toll on his body and now it turns out he needs to have neck surgery. That means his in ring career is over but like any pro wrestler, he won’t retire until his last breath.

If this is goodbye though, he wants to thank Ring of Honor for keeping him around when he didn’t have to. Corino thanks a lot of people who have been there for him in ROH, including all of the boys in the back who have busted their backs, necks and heads for the fans. Finally he thanks the fans and says that he will always be an evil man. Really, really good stuff here as Corino sounded like he was speaking from the heart which always makes for a better speech. That might be it for him and if so, this was a great promo to go out on.

The Boys don’t know how to use a urinal. Seriously?

Story Time With Adam Cole is about how he isn’t on the list of World Title contenders. Kyle O’Reilly is though, even after he beat Kyle a few weeks back. Maybe he just needs to whine like Roderick Strong did to get his World TV Title shot. After a clip of Strong being granted his title shot and Cole plugging next week’s title match, he promises to take Kyle out of ROH forever. Again, Cole is one of the best talkers in the company.

Silas leaves the bathroom and hands the Boys a plunger.

Michael Elgin vs. Kevin Lee Davidson

Davidson is a big guy…..who gets pinned off a clothesline in nine seconds? There was an edit in there so either something horrible happened or it was cut for time. You really don’t see that in ROH too often so I’m curious to know what happened there.

Elgin, breathing heavily to really imply that something was cut there, talks about competing in the G1 Climax tournament in Japan. It made him realize that he wanted the ROH World Title back so now he wants to face Jay Lethal sometime soon.

We look back at the Kingdom stealing the World Tag Team Titles at All-Star Extravaganza.

Tag Team Titles: Kingdom vs. Addiction

Heels vs. heels here. Side note: it’s interesting how much catchier some of these songs are than any of the TNA ones. TNA has a few good ones but so many of them are forgettable. I’m already singing Kingdom’s song with them as they come out after hearing it maybe three times.

The Addiction is challenging and have Chris Sabin in their corner. Daniels is in a military uniform which makes him look quite different from his partner Kazarian. The Kingdom still has pink on because these tapings are from October when people still care about breast cancer. As usual, Nigel is far too happy to see Maria, though at least he has great taste.

Taven and Daniels start things off and Kazarian starts cheating early with a knee to the back. Bennett and Kazarian both try to come in but both guys catch each others kicks. They make a truce and both punch each other in the jaw because they’re all villains. A standoff takes us to an early break and we come back to Daniels stomping Taven down in the corner. Kazarian gets driven across the ring though and it’s off to Bennett for the first time. You just can’t buy good help these days.

Daniels comes in again and takes over but makes the mistake of insulting Maria, causing Bennett to get all fired up. That’s fine with Daniels as it turns into a slugout on the floor, leaving Taven and Kazarian to both bring in belts. That’s another standoff so they both do the Eddie Guerrero fall. Kazarian sits up and yells at Maria before collapsing again when the referee comes in. Maria: “OH MY GOD ARE YOU KIDDING???”

They run the ropes but Sabin and Maria both trip them up, earning them a double ejection as we take another break. Back with Bennett cleaning house and saying he saw this on TV before diving on Daniels. Everyone else hits a dive of their own and the fans are way too excited for an all heels match. Back in and Kazarian runs Taven over for two but gets caught in a backpack Stunner/running boot combo for two more.

Daniels is still down as Bennett loads up a spear (Bennett: “On this day, I see clearly!” I like this guy.) which takes out the referee by mistake. Cue Maria again as everything breaks down but Daniels grabs her by the hair. That’s enough for a low blow and superkick (not bad either) from Maria, followed by a Disaster Kick to take Kazarian down. Cue the guy in the red mask to superkick Kazarian again, setting up a spear from Bennett to retain at 17:05.

Rating: B-. Another match where I had a lot more fun than I was expecting to. The heel vs. heel stuff actually worked and I laughed at Bennett singing Edge’s music. Fun match here, though I’m hoping they wrap up this red mask thing pretty soon. It’s been done long enough now and they need to go somewhere with it.

War Machine comes out to stare the champs down to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This is pretty easily the best ROH on Destination America show to date, which comes right before they’re leaving the network. The wrestling was all good tonight and we had a solid promo to back it up, plus setting the stage for Final Battle. Everything had a point tonight and I want to see where some of this is going, making the show a success on its own. Really good show this week which flew by as it always does.

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